Red Dog: True Blue

I feel bad having to give only a five rating as the lead character was a young person who acted his heart out and did so well but the movie doesn't deserve a higher ranking. I would have enjoyed it ever so much more if it didn't have the feel of movie-making by numbers: we must have some homosexual characters, we must knock Christians (this time mission nuns), we must have mystical Aboriginals etc... political correctness will be the death of good story telling. There is nothing wrong with each of these individually but it felt contrived as if the director had to get them on screen somehow.

And as much as I love stories about dogs I felt this one tried to milk that good will too much. The dog chasing the plane when the boy leaves, it was all too much. Maybe I would give it a higher rating if it hadn't been called Red Dog as it felt like a blatant cashing-in on that crazily enjoyable film.

This wasn't a story about the dog it was a story about a boy becoming a man. Great scenery, great acting and great dog it just didn't come together as a good story.

Five years after Red Dog proved to be a smash hit at the Australian box office, the eponymous red kelpie is leaping back onto the silver screen, ready to win over holiday audiences once again in the sequel Red Dog: True Blue. Set immediately before the events of the first film, the story this time around is a coming of age story about a young boy who, after being sent to live with his grandfather in the West Australian outback, has a chance encounter with Red Dog that blossoms into a one of a kind friendship.

Much like the first one, the film is a throwback to an old-fashioned type of family entertainment, before animal features involved CGI talking heads and loud and noisy special effects took front stage in lieu of genuine heart. It's only let down by its over eagerness to replicate what made the first film a big hit, that it often feels like it's lagging behind. It devotes a fair bit of the opening to replaying scenes from the first film, this time through the perspective of a middle-aged man sitting in a theatre watching the film with his children. We see his red, teary eyes glued to the screen, clearly touched by the story that has unfolded, which afterwards inspires him to recount his own childhood encounter with the dog. This meta moment feels a little bit like the sequel kissing its own butt for lack of a better expression. As a framing device, it's effective, but it can't shake off the shameless feeling that it's trying to coax audiences into remembering how teary they may have felt themselves after the first film, in case they forgot in the intervening years. It only sets up the sequel for failure as True Blue never manages to recreate this emotional punch, even when it desperately tries to turn on the waterworks once again towards the end.

While this brings the film down a notch, wedged between these scenes is a film of comparable quality. It's light, breezy and frequently funny, with some mild third act drama, when a bush fire encroaches on the grandfather's cattle farm, adding some excitement to the affable proceedings. When a detour into Aboriginal mysticism threatens to veer into hokey territory, the film wisely strays away from any heavy-handed depictions, maintaining a light touch throughout.

Verdict: Even though lightning doesn't exactly strike twice with True Blue, it still offers a solid piece of family entertainment that's replete with heart and a good-natured sense of humour, even if it won't win you over quite the same.

6.5/10

A father takes his two young sons to see Red Dog. After the movie he describes to his oldest son how Red Dog is based on the story of a dog he had as a boy - Blue. From this we see the period in the man's childhood when Blue was his dog, their trials and tribulations living on a farm in a remote part of Western Australia.

The first Red Dog was interesting, engaging and very emotional. This movie just seems like an attempt to cash in on the success of that movie.

The story is quite lightweight and unengaging. Quite clumsy too, especially the segue from the father and sons watching the movie to it turning into a prequel to Red Dog. Even the adventures the boy and the dog go on seem very unexciting. While the original movie worked for both adults and children, this one was definitely made for kids, and kids only.

Animal abandonment hits me hard.

I did not see the first movie and I do not know the story about this dog.

I was lured in by the description. Boy finds scruffy dirty puppy that later becomes a legend.

I waited all movie to find out when the legend part was going to happen only to see a broken hearted dog chasing the helicopter the boy was in as he left to live with his mom.

The boy who is now a man with his own family narrates the story.

As the movie ends he reveals that he never seen his dog again. Which means the dog wandered for the rest of his life looking for the boy and was never reunited.

Meanwhile the boy grew up and had a fulfilled life. Lots of great education, fell in love, got a great job and had his own children.

The first movie of Red Dog tells more of the adventures of the Red dog which shows him helping people. Yet the dog searched for his boy until he died.

Good family movie and sad at the end....................